Answer me this
by Suffering Angel
Summary: When Riku finds some of Naminé's drawings, he can't help but wonder himself what things would've been like had it all been for real. He better pick his words carefully, though, because Naminé'd like to hear his opinion too. For RiNami day, December 8th


I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

_**Answer me this**_

Riku usually wasn't one to walk into other people's rooms when they weren't there. He respected their privacy and knew each had their own little truths and worlds they preferred to keep hidden. It was only natural, and he knew he shouldn't pry.  
>Usually.<br>Right then he was standing at the door to the empty white room and looking idly about. The room's usual inhabitant - a blonde haired girl - was absent, and Riku figured he might as well wait for her. She was either trying to patch his best friend's memories up, or discussing matters with Diz. Neither activity was one he wanted to disrupt for obvious reasons.  
>That left him alone and unattended for a short while through which he had nothing to occupy himself with. At first, it wasn't that bad, as he wasn't as hyperactive as a certain brunet friend of his, but Riku also had his limits. White walls; white ceiling; white floor and table and chairs and fireplace. Even the flowers in the vase in the middle of the table were white, the green of their stalks hidden by the container.<br>Now, true, it was hard telling precise details and hues from behind the black fabric covering his eyes, but Riku could still tell it was all smooth, and detail-less, and boring. The stillness and quiet in the room weren't helping, and soon Riku was back up on his feet, looking for anything of any interest. He found them on the other end of the table where Naminé used to sit, right next to the crayons she loved so much. There, stacked up albeit in a mess were some of the girl's drawings. Riku browsed through them with one hand while the other kept his blindfold up from one eye.  
>Some drawings he recognized the scenes in. They were taken out of Sora's memories as they actually were, and that he was familiar with for the most part. Some drawings he realized were real from the time Sora spent traveling. The rest, though, he thought he knew but didn't. They were off, different, altered. Most were either wrinkled, scribbled over, some even torn. All of those, without fail, had Naminé in them.<br>Feeling like he was prying too much, Riku left the pile of papers alone with no small amount of guilt. He fully intended to go back to his seat when something caught his still exposed eye and he looked back to the top of the fireplace. There, between a couple of books and boxes of crayons it was, and he picked it up for closer inspection. It was a Paopu shaped charm with a long, braided strap hanging off it. Where did Naminé get the thing from, he wondered.

"There used to be two of those." The girl herself commented from the door, and Riku growled at his carelessness; he was so deep in thought he didn't sense her coming.

"What happened to the other two?" He asked casually, but no response came until Naminé leaned against the fireplace, a forlorn smile gracing her face while she stared at the floor.

"They're both gone." She replied with her usual smile the next moment, the one he felt was inappropriately happy for the situation at hand.  
>He tried not to let it show - a much easier feat when one had his eyes hidden - and toyed some more with the trinket.<p>

"So this is number three, huh?"

She nodded once in reply and glanced at him with something not unlike fear. He shouldn't ask, should he? But at the same time, it almost felt like she wanted him to, and so, he figured that if he started already, he might as well continue to pry.

"What happened to the other two?"

Naminé shifted uneasily at the question, and for a moment Riku wondered if he shouldn't have asked after all. He bowed his head shamefully.  
>"Sorry, forget i-"<p>

It might've been his choice of words, because Naminé answered.

"One I made Sora think he had." She began with her head lowered, hands behind her back and the ends of her feet pressed against each other. She looked like a scolded child explaining its misdeeds.  
>"It vanished when he realized the truth."<p>

Riku studied the girl for a long moment before looking back at the charm. He didn't know the specifics of what Naminé did to Sora, but figured that was best left between the two. He moved on to his next question.  
>"And the second one?"<p>

She hunched her shoulders, but still looked straight at him.  
>"I gave it to 'you'."<p>

Riku's brows went up at that declaration.  
>"You never gave me any-" He stopped in mid-sentence; she smiled awkwardly.<br>"Right... _'me'_." He muttered and tightly gripped the charm between his fingers. He remembered well what happened to his replica, and needn't hear more to figure out what happened to the second charm.  
>That did leave one last question, though, he realized as he released the hold on the bright star a bit.<br>"And this... what's up with Number Three?" He asked and glanced at Naminé who nodded, her eyes fixed on a point between two tiles on the floor.

"I made it right before Diz and I left the castle." She admitted, but that only served to confuse Riku further.

"But why? Were you going to give it to anyone? Sora, maybe, when he-"  
>He stopped once he realized she was shaking her head.<br>"Then why?"

Her smile this time was apologetic; she looked away from him at first before looking up at the ceiling.  
>"Memories really are weird things... did you know, Riku? It doesn't matter if things didn't really happen. So long as you believe in them, if you accept them..." She looked down at her hands. A tiny smile rose to her lips as she ran a finger over her pinky, the one she sealed a promise with.<br>"They're as real as you and I, standing here right now."

Riku was slightly taken aback by that statement. He rarely heard Naminé talk with such attachment, such connection to anything. Never heard her sound so _hopeful_ about anything.  
>The longing wasn't anything new, though.<br>He held the charm by the chain and watched it spin slowly back and forth around itself.  
>Something to remember the reality she wanted to believe in by... was it?<br>A small smile rose to Riku's lips as he gave Naminé back the charm.

"Maybe even realer." He replied, making Naminé blink as she held the charm to her chest.

"Is... this what you came here for?"

The blindfold shifted a bit as Riku blinked, and for a moment he gapped like a fish out of water. He eventually pursed his lips and looked away somewhat bashfully.  
>"...I forgot." He admitted, and she giggled softly in reply.<br>"Guess it wasn't all that important." He concluded and reached to ruffle the girl's hair fondly. "I'll be on my way then."

Naminé idly tried to brush her hair back with one hand before turning to look at the charm she was still half hugging.  
>"Say, Riku-" the girl whispered, but it was enough to make the boy - who was halfway to the door - stop and turn to her.<br>Realizing she had an audience still, Naminé returned to hugging the charm, a delicate blush on her cheeks.

"Do-" She gulped. A part of her didn't want to ask, but the rest of her wanted to know. This boy who didn't 'remember' her. This boy who knew only the truth and who knew her for real - what would he say?  
>"Do you think it would've worked... if it was real?" She pursed her lips and hunched her shoulders. "If- if I was really there, from the start?"<p>

Riku's lips parted at the question but he pursed them into a thin line the next moment. A hurt look crossed Naminé's face, and he wasn't sure if his attempt at an explanation made things better or that much worse.

"What's the point? Anything I say would hurt you either way."

She curled up a bit around the charm. Of course, she knew he was right. If the answer was that it wouldn't have worked out, he'd be rejecting her, bluntly, coldly, rudely even, even if she was the one asking for an answer. And if it would've worked out, had Naminé been there with Sora and Riku from day one, had they truly been friends - wouldn't that only make her reality worse?  
>Still, she wanted to know - <em>had<em> to know, and so she looked up at him with calm determination in her eyes as she lowered the charm.  
>"Please, Riku; I want to know."<p>

He stared at her from behind his blindfold, the last line of defense between him and her piercing blue gaze. If she was that adamant about it, he knew he had no choice but to answer - though he still wasn't going to make it easy on her.

"You saw it, didn't you?" He asked and turned to face her fully. "Inside Sora's memories, what we were like. So why don't you tell me."

She knew; Sora never would've accepted the memories she created inside him otherwise.  
>She tightened her hold over the good luck charm she created, her fingers slightly scratching over the smooth surface.<br>"If... if it came true, if I somehow could be there for real..."

He waited until she composed herself, but even thought he saw it coming, he wasn't prepared for the miserable smile she offered him.

"Would you be happy about it?"

For a long moment he actually couldn't believe she asked that. It was such an obvious answer, but he knew better - those were often the answers one had to hear from someone else.

"I'm sure Sora would've been thrilled."

Naminé closed her eyes and lowered her head. Of course, she knew that too. It was so obvious, a given. Still, it only made reality that much harder to face. It was painful, and frustrating, to the point where she couldn't help but let herself cry.  
>She never felt the salty drops fall down her cheeks. Instead, she felt the smooth, cold caress of leather and looked up to find Riku standing by her, wiping her tears.<p>

"And I wouldn't mind it too much, either."

At first, Naminé didn't understand those words, but soon remembered the context and smiled - a bit more happily this time. She brought a hand up to hold onto his wrist just the same, holding onto the little she had left and still within reach.  
>He wanted to do something more, do something more, but before he could do either Diz's annoyed voice came from down the hall, and Naminé lowered her hand - not before she held on tighter still.<p>

"Go... it's better not to keep him waiting."

Riku nodded, but still stayed for a moment. It wasn't until he was satisfied she calmed down some that he turned to leave, only to come to a stop at the door.

"You better look after that charm, alright? I'd hate to get it with dents and scratch marks."

An honest blink was offered, and Naminé looked genuinely baffled.  
>At that, Riku let himself shrug and laugh.<p>

"What, don't I get one too? I'm gonna start feeling left out."

He left before he could properly see the blush on her cheeks. When she finally recovered, Naminé smiled down at the charm and hugged it close. She had no intention of giving it to Riku, not to the one person she never had to lie to. If only served to make the charm that much dearer, though - knowing the thing she wanted to believe in wasn't a complete lie. 


End file.
